A Football First

Now if this doesn't make you want to have a baby boy in the Fall, I don't know what will.  Kristen did it again...another precious birthday party!  That's two, this month, for those of you counting.  Sweet baby boy Landon turned "1" this weekend.  And I can't think of any better theme to celebrate this strapping lad's big day than a football party.  {Landon seriously already has the makings of linebacker.}

The guest adorned themselves with team spirit ware.  And yes, you guessed it,  my fam was decked out in Florida State attire.  Have I mentioned, Clay lives and breathes Florida State football sports? My boys were covered in the FSU tee department.  It was Mags and I who were short on Seminole attire.  A quick call to my dear high school/college friend, Amy, and Maggie was all set with an outfit out grown by her daughter.  Perfect!  Amy had it in the mail for me and in turn, I saved few bucks on my end.  Thank goodness for a great friend with a fellow Seminole fan for a husband.

Besides the absolutely adorable little football fans, the decor was a touch down {are you loving my sports lingo?  That's about the only football term I can confidently use and still know what I am talking about}.  So on to the party and my littlest Seminoles...

{A huge thanks to Cristina too!  I totally forgot my camera and she so generously let me use hers.  Then she got to go home and weed through 40+ pictures to send to me--I'm sure she was loving that.  And excuse some of the quality, I had no clue how to use her camera--that's my excuse anyway}

A little taste of the sweetest treat at the party and the healthiest.  And poor Maggie missed out on cupcakes, yet again.  I'm trying to teach this gal that you have to make healthy choices before you can enjoy the sweet stuff.  It has become one of my biggest "Maggie Challenges".  I've never had this problem with Jack {knock on wood}--he continues to be my awesome eater.  Hence the difference in their size.  Oh, my poor petite little Magpie.

Trick of the day, disguise diluted cranberry juice in a sports bottle.  These kiddos think they hit the jackpot.  So clever, Kristen!

75% of the party, my Maggie could be found at the "football art" table coloring away like the calm little thing she is.  Oh, the joys of a girl!

And 75% of the party, Jack could be found in the bounce house jumping like a wild man.  Oh, the energy of a boy!

My one and only opportunity to get a picture of my little Noles {they had left their posts to fill up on lunch, actually Jack had, and Maggie followed hoping it was cupcake time}.  14 tries later and this is  what I got.  I have to say, I'm not overly disappointed...Maggie isn't crying because Jack "touched" her, Jack doesn't have his finger in any orifices, and they are both looking {even if it's not directly at the camera, it's somewhere}.  In my book, that's a score for us!

This actually wasn't my idea...we got talked into it.  And since the kids were sitting anyway, eating lunch {or in Maggie's case, pretending to eat lunch}, I figured "why not?".  Thanks Erica!  {and that is my version of FSU attire...gold...sorry, not a lot of garnet in this gal's closet}.

**I promise pictures of Maggie's celebration are on their way.  I should get the CD in the mail this week and then after I spend some time reveling in their preciousness, I'll get to posting...yee haw!**

One Little, Two Little Indians

Clearly, one little indian was not happy.

Guess Who's Two?

My Maggie, of course!  Two years ago to the day we were blessed with a joyful, sweet, sensitive, loving, and precious baby girl.  And my, how much joy she has brought to this family.  Life with her is heavenly {of course, she has her moments, but don't they all?}.  I can't remember life before her and I certainly can't imagine it without her.

We celebrated Maggie's 2nd year of life this past weekend with a Barnyard Petting Farm in our own backyard.  The weather was ideal {minus a little wind}, Maggie was happy to be two, and we had lots of friends, family, {and animals} to celebrate with.  Thank you to all of our friends and especially Grammy & Grampa who made the sweet effort to celebrate with us.  It was a great, and very busy, weekend.

I have so many pictures to share, but I will spare you the ones from my camera {well, maybe just a few}.  However, a new photographer, who is a friend of a friend, took amazing pictures for me.  She shared a little sneak a peek on her blog and that's when I decided I wouldn't put you through my amateur photos.  Check it out for your self...Maggie's Petting Farm. I think she is pretty amazing. She officially has a permanent job with the Cibulas. {which is a good thing for her, because you know how I love pictures}

As always at the Cibula house, the birthday celebration continued all the way up to Maggie's real birthdate.  Tuesday Maggie celebrated with her friends at school.  She came home after a Birthday snack of donuts and applesauce with a giant number "2" crown on her head.  She was very proud.

And this morning, November 9th, we woke Maggie with bright lights, a video camera in her face, and a Happy Birthday tune.  I'll spare you {again} the video, which in turn means I'm sparing you my singing voice too. For some reason I'm the only one who ever sings and I have the video camera in my hands...not a good combo. But, Mags loved it and we love her.

The official day does deserve some photographic documentation.  So, I'll give you a few of my very amateur photos of the week long celebration.  However, you'll have to wait on the "professional" party pics...but, trust me they will be worth it {and I'm sure you believe me if you checked out that link up there}.  Stay posted....the party lives on...

We love you Magpie!!  Happy "Terrific 2"!

{I really can't even believe I'm sharing these after the awesome job that Andrea did, but we need something to hold you over...her pictures put mine to shame}

The Dessert table.

The centerpiece on the food table {which was filled with all kinds of barnyard yummies, i.e. pigs in a blanket, cow tails, hay bales, a garden, etc.}

Favor barns--jam packed with barnyard animals, barn bubbles, and personalized sippy cups in different combos of gingham {lots of gingham at this party}.

My attempt at getting a few animals in the picture.  At this point, Andrea showed me a few images on her camera and I politely resigned as back up photographer.

The beautiful Birthday Girl with her cupcake.

My barnyard princess enjoying a tea party with some of her gifts.  Gotta love being a girl!

Birthday Morning...How old are you Maggie?  And she proudly answers "2"!

Birthday girl with her excited brother.  Check out those hair dos...in case you are wondering, we have a lot of water bottles around our house.

Halloween For Two

I am officially exhausted after, what feels like, a month of Buzz Lightyear and Elmo.  Maybe it's time to start working on a sugar high with some of that loot that my kid's so fantastically collected last night.

I can't blame the exhaustion solely on Buzz and Elmo.  I am partly to blame...I should have gone to bed when the kids did last night and I shouldn't have spent an entire 3 hour nap session today taking down Halloween decorations and putting up Fall decor.  That type A personality gets me every time.

But this tired Mommy still has a giant smile in my heart and lots of pictures of two trick-or-treaters.  "Two" being the key word in that last sentence.  Last year our little Mags was just along for the ride.  This year we were on her ride {a very slow ride mind you}.  When people say, "slow down and enjoy life through a toddler's eyes", I suggest you take their advice.  Fortunately, I was able to do that.  Daddy had Jack duty and they were gone before you could say, "to infinity and beyond".

So Maggie and I tottered down the road.  She wanted nothing to do with the wagon so we ditched it in someone's yard for the time being.  And hold on to your seat....she didn't even want me to carry her?!?!  Little Miss Independence, for a night anyway.  Halloween does have a way of bringing out a new side in folks, so they say.  But truly, it was fabulous to enjoy Maggie's first real Halloween with her.

She was a show stopper with her red tutu and pumpkin bag almost as big as herself.  She waddled up every driveway, climbed up every porch, whispered "trick-or treat" {or something resembling that}, smiled a giant grin when she got her treat, and confidently said, "tank ooh" in her softest little princess voice.  Yes, she is heavenly.  And yes, I am one blessed Mommy.

We made it from our house to the end of the street {about 14 houses-both sides}.  I was quite impressed with Elmo's stamina.

On our way back to the wagon, Maggie spotted the moon.  It was one of those "I'll never forget this as long as I live" moments, {for me anyway}.  Maggie stopped dead in her tracks and with a look of complete ahhhh and wonderment, she pointed to the dusky sky and in a dazed voice said, "da moon, da moon".  She didn't know what to think of it--it was her first real life moon sighting.  I affirmed her findings and she smiled a mile wide, never taking her eyes off of it.  Baby girl has never been out past dark and has only seen "da moon" in books.  When it was time to move on, Maggie turned over her shoulder, looked one last time, and said, "nigh nigh moon" while waving her way down the street.

When I finally announced it was time to go home, Maggie rejected the idea with a "no, no... moh knock, knock" {meaning no I want to go to more houses}.  I won out, and rightfully so, she was exhausted by the time we got home.

Jack and Daddy came rolling in about an hour later.  Buzz was dirty, sweaty, and had a bag full of treats, just the way I would expect any boy on Halloween night to look.  He excitedly declared that he, "had so much fun" and then crashed really hard for the night.

So long to Elmo and Buzz, for now anyway.   And I did take one thing away with me this year...a commercialized Halloween isn't so bad after all.